This week and last, I had the opportunity to spend sometime with Ben and Paul's classes. Last Wednesday, I chaperoned Ben's field trip to Madison, where the fourth-graders visited the Capitol and the Vilas Zoo. The kids were great, overall, but one thing I noticed is that they love to say the word "dude." A lot. I didn't realize it had made such a big comeback.
One of the things that struck me most watching the kids was that for the most part, they're all still nice to one another. No one, that I could see, was teased or set as an outcast. It made me sad in a way knowing that the inevitable social caste system, in which some kids will rise to the top while others will be deemed untouchable, will emerge in a mere year or two. How I wish kids could hold on to their sweetness.
Yesterday, I paid a visit to school to help with Paul's class's Halloween party. Before the party got under way, the kids had a Halloween assembly in the gym. The principal called out groups of kids by the costumes they were wearing, and the kids ran into the center of the room and did a little dance. I was amazed as I watched Ben and Paul happily run out and dance. It's something I never would have done. I would have pegged Paul, for sure, as refusing to go out.
When we got back to Paul's classroom, I was further astounded to see how much he has grown in a year. Last year in preschool, he stuck to me like glue every time I was in his classroom. He wasn't very social, was pretty much a loner, I thought. But yesterday, sure, he was happy to have his mom visit school, but that didn't stop him from sitting down with three other boys and making up a game to play with cars. I've never been so happy to be ignored.
Parents tend to label their kids. I know I do. I'm happy to learn that sometimes our kids surprise us in the best possible ways.
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